Best way to get emails into 7

Alloneword · 13 Jul 2011

Right now i'm running xp with OE (I must be one of the few that like OE) the only thing stopping me moving to 7 right now is getting my emails/address book etc into 7.

I have had a nose at Thunderbird and i'm happy to move to that, so i have installed TB on my XP machine and fired that up and imported OE details into TB but what i need to know is how easy is it/what are the steps to once i have loaded 7 and TB to get those emails back into TB.

I hope i have made myself clear.

All1

Maguscreed · 13 Jul 2011

Identify the e-mail account you want to use for the imported mail. You can use the Local Folders account, or some other account, or you can create a new account specially.
In Account Settings, go to the Local Folders account's main page to find its Local directory path. Or, to import the folder into some other account, go to the account's Server Settings page to find its Local directory path. Make a note of the path.
Exit Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite.
Back up your profile or Mail directory, especially if you plan to overwrite existing mbox files.
Copy the mbox files you are importing to the local directory that you identified in step 2. For example, copy "Inbox" (not Inbox.msf) to the account's local directory.
Note: If you want to keep the existing mbox file of the same name in the new location, rename the file you wish to import before copying it over. For example, rename "Inbox" to "InboxOld" and "Sent" to "SentOld".
Open Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite. As it starts up, the application automatically discovers new mbox files and makes them into folders. A folder for each file you copied should be displayed.
Open each folder and verify that it contains the correct number of e-mails, that they are readable, and that you can open attachments. Sometimes, differences between mbox formats cause multiple emails to be combined into one larger e-mail or can make some e-mails unreadable.

Troubleshooting is beyond the scope of this article, but if you examine the mbox technical links and the links to importing specific programs, you may find helpful information.

Importing and exporting your mail - MozillaZine Knowledge Base

Bongo · 13 Jul 2011

Mozbackup is a great way to do it MozBackup - Backup tool for Firefox and Thunderbird
&
MozBackup - Create a Backup of Your Mozilla Profile
Jerry

seavixen32 · 13 Jul 2011

Nice link here: Import Mail from Outlook Express in Mozilla Thunderbird Step by Step Screenshot Walkthrough - About Email

Alloneword · 13 Jul 2011

Backing seems simple enough to do but once i have win7 installed as well as TB, is it a simple job of importing again using TB?

All1

MilesAhead · 13 Jul 2011

I was doing the import export thing with Thunderbird. But if it's the same version of TB on both ends it's just simpler to copy the Mail folder to the new location. If drive letters and all that are the same that's all you need to do. If you have any TB extensions such as AutoCopy or some of the folder managers or custom buttons then you may have to use an extension saver/backer upper. :)

edit: in fact you may be able to get away with just copying the whole "profiles" folder from one install to the other. The time to try it is before you do any customization on the new install. Copy the new Profiles folder to a temp folder in case the new install gets totally hosed you can just copy it back.

MozBackup does work. Where you can run into problems is if you accidentally try to retore and old version backup onto a newer version install. Got into that nightmare with Firefox. It's easier just to copy the whole settings/profile folder someplace, like an external drive.

MvdB · 13 Jul 2011

Bongo said:

Mozbackup is a great way to do it MozBackup - Backup tool for Firefox and Thunderbird
&
MozBackup - Create a Backup of Your Mozilla Profile
Jerry

I agree, used this multiple times, also across different versions, work fine!

Alloneword · 13 Jul 2011

OK this mozbackup seems simple enough, I have taken an image of xp machine so if it all goes pete tong at least i can go back on that, i'll come back and let you know how i get on, thx for your help guys.

All1

Maguscreed · 13 Jul 2011

MilesAhead · 14 Jul 2011

MvdB said:

Bongo said:

Mozbackup is a great way to do it MozBackup - Backup tool for Firefox and Thunderbird
&
MozBackup - Create a Backup of Your Mozilla Profile
Jerry

I agree, used this multiple times, also across different versions, work fine!

Where I got burned was Firefox 2 onto 3. They changed the bookmarks to db format. Easy to forget after an update. Thunderbird probably hasn't changed anything except for the gui with the tabs.